A/D Converter - Audient Mico vs ECHO Audiofire 4

[RakeshR]

Anyone? I've been hankering to get the Summit 2BA-221 instead of the Audient, but i'm concerned that sending the signal to the Audiofire's Line Ins and using its A/D converter will compromise the sound. Any thoughts?

[Jimbo]

I doubt the Mico has inferior conversion to the Echo. Audient upgraded the conversion in the ASP008 before the Mico came out, and I would imagine that they leveraged the same conversion in the Mico.

If it were me, and I wanted only two channels of preamp/conversion I would go with the Mico instead of the Summit/Echo. I like Summit gear, but I think you're getting better value overall with the Mico. Plus, the Mico takes line inputs, so you can always buy the Summit later, and run it through the Mico converters.

[RakeshR]

Thanks for your reply :-) . Could you elaborate on the overall value bit? I've found a decent amount of positive reviews and comments on the MICO but nowhere near as much as the emphatic praise the Summit unit has gotten.. Its because of this that I would rather go for the Summit

But if you or anyone can indicate that the Audiofire's conversion is of lesser quality than the MICO's then I'll definitely get the MICO over the Summit.

Or are the conversion quality indistinguishable?

[Jimbo]

The 2ba-221 has been around for many years while the Mico is a newer product, so you'll find more reviews/praise for the Summit.

In terms of value I think that 2 x preamps/converters is greater than 1 x preamp. I also think 2 channels of Dave Deardon (Audient) conversion that's made in England is probably better than 2 channels of ??? (Echo) conversion that's made in ???.

However, if you need only one channel of preamp, and the Summit features match your needs then the Summit is the way to go.

Only you can decide.

I'm not a converter snob, but I am a manufacturing quality snob. Look at the connectors on the Mico -- now look at the connectors on the Echo. See how the Audient has good quality connectors that are bolted to the chassis? See how the Echo doesn't? The Summit also has good quality connectors that are bolted to the chassis. One of these things is not like the rest.

Good luck!

[RakeshR]

Fair point, very fair point. The problem is I'll be working with a DAW and I will need the Audiofire regardless of whichever preamp I choose.

I was very satisfied with the mico after listening to clips, just felt the Summit would provide me with more coloration options. But you've highlight a very good point that's swayed me back to the Mico.

I've got one possible monkey wrench for the mico tho. How would the Mico fare when used for passive ribbons? I've found a real good deal for a couple of fatheads and now I'm wondering if the lack of switchable impedance on the Mico may be an issue? I know I can't expect one preamp to cover all bases but at 1.8k ohm, would that work well on 200-300ohm ribbon mics?

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk

[Jimbo]

Originally Posted by RakeshR

Fair point, very fair point. The problem is I'll be working with a DAW and I will need the Audiofire regardless of whichever preamp I choose.

I was very satisfied with the mico after listening to clips, just felt the Summit would provide me with more coloration options. But you've highlight a very good point that's swayed me back to the Mico.

I've got one possible monkey wrench for the mico tho. How would the Mico fare when used for passive ribbons? I've found a real good deal for a couple of fatheads and now I'm wondering if the lack of switchable impedance on the Mico may be an issue? I know I can't expect one preamp to cover all bases but at 1.8k ohm, would that work well on 200-300ohm ribbon mics?

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk

I get that you need the Audiofire dongle, and it probably works well in that mode.

As for impedance, you'd probably want the impedance of the preamp to be in the 2-3K ohm range (i.e., 10 x ribbon output impedance). However, I don't think it makes THAT much of a difference. My preamps are 2.2K input (not much above the Mico), and they sound great with ribbons.

Honestly, regardless of the amount of gain in the preamp I think slapping a Fethead on the ribbon mic makes a lot of difference in performance -- just the added volts pushing the mic signal down the line reduces EMI dramatically. If you're in a real studio EMI might not be such a problem, but for location-recording people (like me) it's a bigger problem.

It sounds like the Summit might give you more of what you're looking for, though. Perhaps it is your better option.